Opportunities to Learn to Enact Ambitious Instruction in Elementary Mathematics and English Language Arts

• In Event: Instruments for Measuring Quality in Teacher Education

Abstract

Objective
Teacher education research has yet to develop a robust set of tools that allow us to understand the specific features of prospective teachers’ coursework and fieldwork experiences that may support high quality teaching down the road. This paper focuses on the design of measures of “opportunities to learn” (OTL) that can be used across large populations of teacher candidates at diverse preparation programs. We highlight the coordination of multiple measures, including surveys of candidates, university supervisors, and cooperating teachers to create profiles of OTL for prospective elementary school teachers. In particular, we demonstrate how these measures illuminate differential OTL to teach mathematics versus English language arts (ELA).

Theoretical Framework
Instrument development drew on work suggesting the importance of particular facets of OTL: representations of practice (how practice is represented to learners), decompositions of practice (how practice is broken down into its constituent parts) and approximations of practice (opportunities for candidates to engage in specific practices) (Grossman, et al., 2009).

Methods and Data Sources
We collected survey data from 300 elementary teacher candidates at five university-based preparation programs in three states. Surveys focus on OTL in ELA and mathematics methods courses and in field experiences. Surveys also included questions about candidates’ understandings of themselves as learners and teachers of mathematics and ELA and their beliefs about how these subjects are best taught and learned (Dweck, et al., 1995; Schmidt, et al., 2011). We also surveyed all the university supervisors (N = 100) and cooperating teachers (N = 300) working with these teacher candidates, asking similar questions about OTL afforded in field experiences. Responses to parallel questions across reporters (i.e., teacher candidates, university supervisors, and cooperating teachers) allow to us to create cross-validated program profiles. We also use survey data to examine how teacher candidates’ beliefs shape their perceptions of OTL to teach math versus ELA.

Results
There was substantial variation in the OTL afforded to candidates both within and across these five programs. At four programs, candidates were afforded substantially richer OTL to teach ELA than mathematics in both coursework and fieldwork. Supervisors and cooperating teachers at those programs expressed more confidence as ELA teachers than as mathematics teachers.
At one program, candidates had numerous opportunities to approximate and decompose practice across subjects. In the other four programs, candidates largely engaged with representations of practice rather than approximated practice themselves.
Significance
Surveying a range of stakeholders in teacher education, including supervisors and cooperating teachers, provides critical insight into the constellation of OTL across different settings. Moreover, scholars have long noted that content shapes instructional practice (Rowan, et al., 2002; Stodolsky, 1988; Wood, et al., 1990), but little large-scale research has explored whether elementary candidates are afforded similar OTL in different subjects. This study provides needed empirical evidence about OTL across subjects, so that we can more efficiently and effectively prepare elementary teachers.

Authors

• Julie Jackson Cohen, University of Virginia

• Rebekah Berlin, University of Virginia